Ford SUV Inquiry May Benefit Suffering Customers While Raising Safety Issues!
Written: Jun 02 '01
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Pros: Ford Explorer at the center of the storm of lawsuits and disagreement
Cons: Unsure of reliability!
The Bottom Line: Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. vs. Ford Motor Co affair raises too many safety issues. Each side is proclaiming their products are safe and that recalls are unnecessary. Which camp to believe?
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| charles's Full Review: 2001 Ford Explorer Sport |
Disclaimer: Attempts at a detailed analysis, based on the intensifiction of the fight between the two giants
Call this bitter battle between these two giant companies whatever you want. Call it the battle of the sturdy CEOs. Lampe and Nasser. John and Jacques. The battle of the cream of the creams. You may even want to call the breakup of relationship a divorce of Ford Motor Co from Bridgestone/Firestone. All of this has come after numerous fatal accidents and recalls of tires by both companies. The victims have filed lawsuits in the meantime. In what ways will this public battle benefit regular, poor and suffering consumers? Their loved ones are long gone. No camp appears to take the blame for the lack of safety and the shredding and peeling of tires in last year's series of accidents. One of the protaganists seems to say something that includes the consumers whose heart, money and business both camps are looking for. There may be some grain of truth to this statement by Bridgestone/Firestone president John Lampe, "Business relationships, like personal ones, are built upon trust and mutual respect...We have come to the conclusion that we can no longer supply tires to Ford since the basic foundation of our relationship has been seriously eroded."
Which side to believe? How about consumers' safety in all of this?
Ford Motor Co CEO fires back: "...We are deeply disappointed...that Firestone decided not work together for the safety of our shared customers, which is the only issue that matters." Despite all the shots fired back and forth, consumers become spectators of this major disagreement. They are taking lessons. They want to know which side is truly interested in protecting them, giving them the assurance of safety on the roads. After all, they are the ones who buy the various Ford Explorers on which the Firestone tires were mounted. Jacques Nasser decides to recall close to 13 million more Firestone tires on its SUVs. It has already made plans to replace the Firestone Wilderness AT tires by signing a contract with Goodyear. All of this news leaves John Lampe with no other alternatives other than to ask for an inquiry of the Ford Explorer. This news is nothing but positive for the consumers and the plaintiffs of various lawsuits. If anything wrong is found in the Ford Explorer design, they will be able to use this new information against Ford. On the other hand, Ford CEO Jacques Nasser wants to continue believing that all the problems lie with the tire manufacturer. John Lampe does not understand why his company's tires fair well in other vehicles, but not on Ford Explorer. He admits that this company is prone to rollovers. This may explain why he is asking for an inquiry. He has taken steps making sure the proceedings get under way. At that point, Mr. Lampe met with transportation secretary Norman Mineta and submitted to him a pretty long report about Ford Explorer's steering problem that may have contributed to rollovers Ford is blaming on defective tires. For sure, the battle has intensified
Still, the questions that most consumers are asking are: How safe is the Explorer? How safe are the tires?
What has been known in this conflict
a. The federal government has files linking Bridgestone/Firestone to 174 deaths and more than 700 injuries. Based on these data, it appears that Firestone had no other games to play other than to be forthcoming and cooperative to save its skin. We all know how last Summer, Bridgestone/Firestone agreed to recall 6.5 million tires that the government linked to the previous deaths.
b. Ford has a lot of ammunition against Firestone. And Firestone has a lot against Ford too. So much for the 95-year relationship that saw the marriage of blood and flesh over the years! Plaintiffs of lawsuits filed against both companies are paying close attention to the tidbits of info that fall on their laps. Who would not jump on them?
c. Important features despite all the rumors: Ford Explorer has been a best-seller. It is one of the Ford's lines of vehicles that has had some great returns over the years. Most consumers continue to buy them despite the existence of its competitors as found in GMC Jimmy, Chevrolet Blazer, Jeep Cherokee 2WD and Jeep Cherokee 4WD. The 2001 Ford Explorer comes with air bag driver, air bad passenger, side impact door beams, theft deterrent system, window, driver side Express door etc and all the standard features.
While this breakup may be a catalyst to many plaintiffs' lawyers' grin, what remains to establish to end all doubt is whether Ford Explorer is all that it's cranked out to be. It will be up to the inquiry team to answer this question. John Lampe can't answer it himself. Let's hope that the truth, the whole truth will come out without any problems. The public, the consumers are watching. They have already paid with the blood of their loved ones. They are suffering while they recover from last year's flurry of peeling tires accidents.
May the truth come out! This way, if any defect is found in the vehicle, it may be corrected to save lives on the roads. As far as the tires are concerned, let's hope that more whistle-blowers come out like Erin Brokovich. It is said that Alan Hogan has been the Erin Brokovich in this case. May he continue to serve society and the regular Joes with his moral values! We need more people like him around. Don't you agree?
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 23,899
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: Automatic
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charles
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Location: CA, USA
Reviews written: 1079
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